KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

With the vote for the city charter changes failing in this week’s Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, the Tullahoma races will be on the ballot for the August primary and general election.

Earlier this year, the city board approved of changes to the city’s charter, which included an amendment change that would have moved all Tullahoma city elections set for August will move to the November ballot, which includes the seats for mayor and aldermen. Following the Tennessee General Assembly’s ratifying the amendment changes as HB2998/SB2979, the city charter was brought back to BoMA to ratify the final changes with a 2/3 majority vote. The final vote to ratify the changes failed 4-3.

For the race for mayor of Tullahoma, four candidates are vying for the seat following Mayor Ray Knowis’ decision to not seek re-election. The final candidates for mayor include current District 9 County Commissioner Lynn Sebourn, current Tullahoma Alderman Kurt Glick, C. Scott Shasteen and Petros Pisinos.

For the Tullahoma aldermanic race, three seats will be up for grabs as Matthew Bird, Franklin Cammack, Sernobia McGee, John Santana and Busch Thoma seek election. Current aldermen Jenna Amacher, Daniel Berry and Derick Mann did not file their petitions to qualify and will not be seeking re-election for their seats.

An additional race on the ballot will the seat of Coffee County Mayor following the sudden death of Judd Matheny in April. Interim Mayor Dennis Hunt was selected as the Republican nominee following the GOP’s caucus in May. Hunt will meet challengers David Nipper and Roxanne Patton, both registered as independent candidates, at the August election. 

For Manchester, the three candidates vying for the seat of mayor of Manchester include current aldermen Bob Bellamy, current aldermen and District 2 County Commissioner Joey Hobbs and Bill Nickels. Current Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard also announced her decision to not seek reelection for the seat.

Similarly to Tullahoma, the Manchester aldermanic race will see eight candidates vying for three seats. The candidates for Manchester aldermen include current aldermen and incumbent Julie Anderson, Joe Pat Cope, John Revice Fletcher, Shannon Fletcher, current aldermen and incumbent Ryan French, Harold “Rocky” Jones, Wilma Thomas and James Threet. The third aldermanic seat up for election is Bellamy, who is running for Manchester Mayor.

As for whose on the ballot for the August primaries, in the race for State House of Representative for District 47, incumbent Rush Bricken will go unopposed in the August Republican primary. Bricken will go against independent candidate Veronica Owen in the November election. As for State Senate for District 16, incumbent Janice Bowling will also be unopposed in the August Republican primary, while Wayne Steele will also go unopposed in the August Democratic primary. Also on the August primary will be the Democratic State Executive Committeewoman for District 16, which will see Rupa Blackwell running unopposed.

The voter registration deadline for the Aug. 1 election will be Tuesday, July 2, while the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Thursday, July 25. The date for early voting will start July 12 and will run until July 27. Tullahoma residents who want to early vote will go to C.D. Stamps Community Center, located at 810 S. Jackson St.